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40 years ago today......
Mar. 13th, 2004 11:38 pm.....was the murder of Kitty Genovese. It happened in the wee hours of the morning of March 13, 1964.
I was out and about this morning, and there was a feature story on today's NPR Weekend Edition about the crime. A 28-year-old woman was raped and murdered outside of her home in Queens after arriving home from her job. This case had notoriety because none of the 38 witnesses did anything to save her at the time.
When on a band trip to New York City in 1979, I remember my high school band instructor mentioning the incident, but if he mentioned the name, I don't remember him doing so. Some of us first heard of this story when it was mentioned in Alan Moore's excellent comic mini-series Watchmen. The material for Rohrschach's mask came from a dress that was special-ordered by Kitty. Here are a few panels from the series, along with the text from an article in the New York Times published two weeks after the murder.
Talk about shadow. When people do nothing to help another fellow human being in trouble. It's both saddening and infuriating. It makes me wonder: If I was one of the people observing, would I stop what I was doing and call for help? Or would I be too afraid to get involved? And if I was the one being assaulted, would people stop what they're doing and call for help?
Listen to the story here, which featuers an interview with Kitty's girlfriend and roommate.
I was out and about this morning, and there was a feature story on today's NPR Weekend Edition about the crime. A 28-year-old woman was raped and murdered outside of her home in Queens after arriving home from her job. This case had notoriety because none of the 38 witnesses did anything to save her at the time.
When on a band trip to New York City in 1979, I remember my high school band instructor mentioning the incident, but if he mentioned the name, I don't remember him doing so. Some of us first heard of this story when it was mentioned in Alan Moore's excellent comic mini-series Watchmen. The material for Rohrschach's mask came from a dress that was special-ordered by Kitty. Here are a few panels from the series, along with the text from an article in the New York Times published two weeks after the murder.
Talk about shadow. When people do nothing to help another fellow human being in trouble. It's both saddening and infuriating. It makes me wonder: If I was one of the people observing, would I stop what I was doing and call for help? Or would I be too afraid to get involved? And if I was the one being assaulted, would people stop what they're doing and call for help?
Listen to the story here, which featuers an interview with Kitty's girlfriend and roommate.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
--Edmund Burke (1729-1797).
